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In today's world with email, phone tag, and voice mail everything moves faster at Internet speed. I first met Craig when time moved slower. We met at a Sigma Chi rush party in the fall of 1984. I had already pledged, and he had just pledged that night. My impression of him was that he was a nice guy, a little shy, good sense of humor, good Sigma Chi material. I knew we would get along. That was a good thing because he asked if he could sleep in my room that night. I said sure if you don't mind sleeping on the floor. I was in the smallest room in the house and it was supposed to be a single room unless the house was completely full. He said he didn't mind. He later said he remembered the floor vibrating from the huge speakers right below our room. The next day I remember coming back from class and to my surprise, he had built himself a platform underneath the loft I had been sleeping in. We now had bunk beds for two big guys in the smallest room in the house. There were plenty of other available rooms in the house and people were starting to talk. He had only been there a day and he had increased the capacity of the house by 1. That room remained a double room for years. This is a great example of his "Just Do It" attitude. He became a close and loyal friend and we actually lived together again off campus years later. He grew into a high quality person. I am happy and proud to be his friend and brother. We were both initiated into Sigma Chi three months later. We both became active in Sigma Chi and both met our wives through Sigma Chi. I can't remember exactly when he first met Kimberly, but I know he loved her from the beginning. I didn't meet my wife Erika until later in college, but Erika and I enjoyed going out with Craig and Kimberly and we have fond memories of the times we had together. Craig was a man of many talents. In addition to his carpentry skills, which I described earlier, he was trained in martial arts, he served our state and country in the national guard where he was an MP. I always felt a little safer when I was with him. He never hesitated to step in between me and some guy picking a fight with me. At the fraternity, we always had uninvited guests who sometimes became violent when we told them they weren't welcome. Craig was good at helping them find their way out! Craig grew out of his shyness and became a great people person. He later used these and other customer service skills on the job at Northwest Airlines. Just kidding. I can only imagine how things may have turned out if Craig had been on the famous Northwest flight in Detroit last year. All I can say is that I could see Craig freeing the passengers a lot sooner! He loved to travel and his job at Northwest allowed him to meet up with me in places like Seattle and Chicago where we could pursue our shared passion for golf. No matter how well we played, we always had a great time. Although we haven't been able to schedule a game lately, I know he'll be there in spirit every time I�m on the course. I'm glad Craig had a chance to experience love, marriage and fatherhood. He loved Max and Zoey and could never stop talking about how proud he was of Max and how much fun it was to help him with his homework (I think that meant surfing the Internet). He always had fun ideas for things they could do together. Craig wouldn't see this as a sad occasion. He would want us to be happy for the times we have spent together. Even though he wasn't the most religious person, he believed that we would all be together again. He and I both believed that in life, the journey is the reward. His journey has taken him away from us for now, but I look forward to crossing paths with him again. When I do, I hope he'll let me sleep on his floor. I would like to thank Kimberly for inviting me to share my thoughts. I hope it has helped you as much as it has helped me. And Max, I look forward to sharing more stories about your dad with you as you get older.
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